Roof racks for vehicles are during use exposed to very harsh environmental conditions such as rain, snow, wind, dirt and the like. They are further expected to withstand a limited amount of crash violence, e.g. from a colliding vehicle. These requirements restrict the materials selected, the shape and the form of the roof rack and its components.
A roof rack generally has a first and a second load carrier foot and a load carrying bar extending there between. It is of utter importance that the load carrier feet are mounted and attached correctly to the vehicle roof. As a consequence, different types of load carrier feet have been developed. One type of load carrier foot is a fix-point load carrier foot. A fix-point load carrier foot uses fixed positions on the vehicle roof to attach the load carrier foot. Usually a nut welded to the vehicle roof, or welded to the vehicle roof chassis, serves as a fix-point for a fix-point load carrier foot. A draw back with a fix-point load carrier foot is of course the limited amount of available positions at which the load carrier foot can be positioned.
Another type of load carrier foot is a load carrier foot of clamping type. Such a load carrier foot uses clamping force between a support surface and a bracket as main attachment principle. An advantage with these type of load carrier feet is that they can be positioned in a plurality of different positions, generally along a rail arranged on the roof of the vehicle. The German patent application no. DE 10 2011 053 604 A1, JAC Products Europe Gmbh, disclose a load carrier foot of clamping type having a support body with a support surface adapted to rest against a first surface of the vehicle, and a portion which the load carrying bar is attached to. A bracket, adapted to grip about a second surface of the vehicle, and a tensioning arrangement adapted to impart a clamping force between the first and the second surface of the vehicle. The tensioning arrangement comprises a lever with an integrated cam member which a user can pivot to impart the clamping force. The cam operates against a portion of the support body.
Load carrier feet of clamping types are susceptible to some drawbacks. One drawback is that they generally tend to use friction provided by the clamping force to rely on a sturdy attachment to the vehicle rail, or vehicle roof. There is also the risk of a load carrier foot of clamping type not being mounted correctly. The ease of which a load carrier foot can be mounted and the semantics which it projects to a user are important factors to reduce the risk to mount a load carrier foot of clamping type incorrectly. There is always a need for load carrier foot which can withstand a high amount of crash violence, i.e. which are readily attached to the vehicle.
Further, using tools has long been considered less favorable when mounting load carrier feet. Tools are not always at hand, and tools further increase the risk of tightening e.g. a screw on a load carrier foot to tight. It is thus advantageous to provide a load carrier foot which can be operated by a user using his/hers hands as a complement or replacement to tools.